1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a projector having a liquid crystal display panel, more particularly to an LCD projector capable both of projecting an image to an external screen and of displaying a directly observable image.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Liquid crystal display panels (herein referred to as LCDs) have recently come into widespread use as devices for displaying images. An LCD is thin, easily manufactured, small and light in weight, and consumes a rather small amount of electric power. These advantages enlarge the field of use of LCDs. An LCD projector is known, in which an image displayed on an LCD is projected by a projecting lens system onto a screen. An LCD is also widespread in use as an apparatus for directly displaying an observable image with a word processor.
An LCD, however, in any conventional display apparatus is used simply either for projecting an image or for directly displaying an image. It is difficult to directly observe an image displayed on an LCD of a projecting apparatus, because the brightness of the image is so great as to be masked by glare from the naked eye. It is also difficult to project an image displayed on an LCD of an observable image display apparatus, because the brightness of the image is too low for projection onto a screen.